Come down with a bug? Use DailyMail.com's guide to tell whether it's Covid, flu or RSV - Daily Mail

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recording high levels of both the influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) this flu season.

Graph shows: Common (green tick), occasional (orange circle) and never (red cross) symptoms of the common cold, hay fever and Covid.

The respiratory virus is also a danger to adults over the age of 65, though less to than Covid or influenza. .

The leading public agency reports that a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath are typical symptoms of the virus.

While children will often also suffer a fever and loss of appetite when infected, these symptoms are more rare among adults with symptomatic RSV cases.

Symptoms like loss of smell and taste, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting are usually not associated with the condition.

At the start of the pandemic, people were told to watch out for three warning signs of Covid: a loss of taste or smell, a continuous cough and a fever.

Covid's most unique feature is the loss of smell or taste completely, known as anosmia, which is rarely reported in colds and hay fever.

However, Omicron is less likely to cause the loss of taste or smell because the variant multiplies deeper in the lungs rather than in the nose, experts believe.

Of the newer symptoms listed for Covid, only diarrhea and nausea or vomiting are unique to the virus and not also caused by either RSV or the common cold. 

The common cold can affect people all year round but is most prevalent over winter. 

Coughs, sore throats, runny or blocked noses and sneezing are the most common symptoms caused by the hundreds of viruses that cause common colds

Aches and pains, fever, headaches, fatigues and a loss of appetite can also be tell-tale signs, while losing taste or smell is also an occasional symptom

Marc Donovan chief pharmacist at Boots UK told MailOnline: 'Colds can still occur during warmer months, and usually involve sneezing and coughing, along with a sore throat, headache and sometimes a loss of taste and smell